Airspace capacity may be limited by the ability of controllers to manage complex traffic patterns. In congested areas of the National Airspace System (NAS), the controller workload limitation is a critical capacity constraint that generates significant en route delay. In response, controllers may apply Miles-in-Trail (MIT) restrictions, reroute aircraft, or deny access into sectors to avoid high workload situations. In today's rigidly structured airspace system, the airspace managers may have very limited flexibility to reconfigure the airspace based on changes in aggregated demand. One dynamic option is to combine two or more sectors. These tactical modifications may not well communicated with the users, and the resulted capacity may be lost. Without effective improvements to reduce the controller workload in congested areas, the airspace may not be able to accommodate future growth in air travel.
Airspace sector design or sectorization has a direct impact on controller workload. A good sectorization could ease the workload even in complex traffic situations. Current airspace sectorization is not based on a comprehensive and system-level study of demand profile and route structure. Sector boundaries have been developed historically, not analytically. Currently, static modifications and airspace redesigns may be conducted within Centers, but the system-wide effect of any change to the entire NAS is not usually considered. Over years, sectors in congested airspaces have been divided into smaller sectors to lower the aircraft density. However, the available radio frequency spectrum for controller-pilot communication may limit the achievable number of sectors in the NAS. This may change in Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) as voice communication between pilots and controllers becomes the exception and not the norm.
Controller workload is directly related to the controller's situational awareness. Structured air traffic may reduce the system dynamics and enable the controller to develop mental abstractions to reduce the cognitive complexity of a traffic situation. This complexity reduction may result in airspace capacity improvement. Current air traffic patterns in the US contain highly structured routes that are favorable for controller workload. However, current airspace sectorization is not entirely in accordance with this structured traffic. Consequently, controllers may not be able to take full advantage of the existing structure. For example, an aircraft destined to Chicago from Los Angeles may cross up to 15 different sectors while en route. Such a non-centralized system may produce a significant amount of controller-to-controller and pilot-to-controller coordination workload, which could make the system inefficient.
It is an object of the present invention to address these limitations, and provide a process to design optimized sector boundaries which reduce controller workload, enhance safety, increase sector throughput, and decrease unnecessary en route delay.